Brownies Reimagine World Thinking Day and Build Community

Every year on February 22, Girl Scouts and Girl Guides from 146
countries observe World Thinking Day (WTD). The occasion rallies our
global Girl Scout sisterhood around a particular theme and encourages
donations to the Juliette Low World Friendship Fund, which
gives more girls the opportunity to travel internationally. On WTD,
girls connect with sister Girl Guides, take action to improve
communities on a global scale, and honor the incredible depth of our
Movement across borders and oceans.

Growing Community

In 2017, the WTD theme “grow” inspired girls to explore their
surroundings, stretch their boundaries, and take on new challenges
while celebrating what it means to be part of a global community.
Which is exactly what girls from Girl Scouts Nation’s Capital did—to
build on their already impressive record of service—when they learned
about newly arrived members of their community who had been displaced
from their previous homes.

With their new neighbors in mind, for WTD, each girl in Troop #3173
in Northern Virginia chose to represent a different refugee’s country
of origin (in many cases, the country where one of her parents was
born). The girls wore traditional clothing and shared a display about
what it means to be a displaced person, including photos of their
refugee Girl Scout sisters abroad. As part of an initiative to really
take the spirit of Girl Scouting across oceans and borders, the girls
even created a huge “Love from your Scout sisters in the USA” banner
(that everyone at WTD also signed!) to send to a Girl Scout troop in
Jordan made up of refugee girls from Syria and Iraq. The troop also
carried the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees flag and
worked with Girl Scouts in their service unit to make more than 100
welcome cards to greet the new Virginians. This is in addition to the
60 cards the troop had already made during one of their meetings—what
a warm Girl Scout welcome!

Nine-year-old Brownie Sophie expressed, “I liked helping people at
Thinking Day understand what a refugee is. Another thing I liked was
giving stuff to the group that helps refugees, because it helped me
imagine what it might feel like to start a new life in a new place.”
That’s what empathy is all about, Sophie!

These girls are the ultimate leaders—confident, responsible, and
committed to changing the world. Just look at all of these wonderful
welcome cards!

Growing Knowledge

The girls began their journey by watching a simple video that
explained what it means to be displaced from a country. The concept
then became very clear to the girls, and several stood up to share
that their own parent or grandparent was once displaced.

When troop leader Sara Holtz saw her girls’ interest pique, she
sought out books about displaced populations to give the girls more
information and perspective. The short children’s books, which were
the perfect learning tool for Brownie-age girls, covered a span of
countries, such as Afghanistan, Cuba, Haiti, Sudan, Syria, and
Vietnam. In addition to sharing the books, Sara invited a refugee
troop mom, now a contracting officer for the USPS Office of Inspector
General, to talk about her own experiences as a displaced person and
her journey to the United States.

“She spoke about trying to escape Vietnam when she was just two or
three years old,” Sara shared. “She and her family tried to escape at
night with no moon. They went to the jungle and then got into a boat.
They were captured and sent back to land, where they were put in
prison—she and her mom in one part of the prison, and her father in another.”

“She got very emotional,” Sara continued. “Everyone was at the edge
of their chairs the whole time, and then she told us how thankful she
was to the American people for helping her family come to the United
States, donating clothes and other items, and helping them resettle in
this country. It enabled them to get jobs, get educations, and become
the proud Americans they are today.”

Growing Initiative

After the talk, the girls immediately wanted to know what they could
do to help. With their leaders’ guidance, the girls teamed up with two
local resettlement agencies to learn about the most-needed donations
for these newly arriving families. Some items included baby kits,
cleaning supplies, toiletries, and other essentials for families who
arrive with little to no belongings.

For the girls, successfully encouraging others in the community to
learn how they could support their new neighbors was a proud moment.
What started off as a small project quickly turned into something big
and powerful. That’s how we change the world—one small, meaningful,
and heartfelt step at a time.

Sara’s nine-year-old daughter Nicole has a simple and powerful wish:
“I want other Girl Scouts and Americans to welcome and help refugees
like we did.”

Sara added, “A lot of times we put people in categories: refugees,
homeless, poor, but for us, now, refugees are not just an idea. Now
it’s my friend’s mom. And when it’s your friend’s mom, that’s a
different situation. It becomes very personal, just one step away from
you. That really changes your perspective.”

The troop’s coleader, Crystal Gutierrez, was also inspired by the
project. “I'm very happy that we decided to explore refugees as
a troop,” she said. “Once the girls grasped the idea of what it means
to be a refugee, it opened the floodgate for conversation and for
sharing personal stories about refugees in their own families, which
in turn fostered empathy and a true opportunity for learning and connection.”

Crystal’s daughter and troop member Dagne, also nine years old, was
impressed by what the group was able to do. “At Thinking Day, I was
struck by how many cards girls made and how many names were signed on
the card we sent to Jordan,” she said.

What a thoughtful and innovative way to reimagine WTD and build
community through compassion, empathy, and education. Thank you,
girls, for going the extra mile!

Growing Service

And there’s more. In addition to practicing a long Girl Scout
tradition of inclusivity and taking the lead to make the world a
better place by helping one another and those in need, Troop #3173 has
collected more than 1,200 books for Fairfax Futures, an organization
that raises awareness and builds support for high-quality early
childhood education and school readiness in Fairfax County. This
fearless team has also labeled storm drains with “no dumping” signage
to help protect water quality in their community, picked up garbage
along the Potomac River, and planted native plants to help maintain
the natural ecosystem.

For Sara, Girl Scouting is a natural addition to her family’s
already strong history of service and outdoor adventure. “Community
service is important and rewarding,” she said. “It can become a key
part of your life and who you are. The other part I love most about
Girl Scouting is the outdoor component. I have always felt that girls
don’t necessarily have as many opportunities to camp and recreate in
the outdoors as boys do, and Girl Scouts gives them that.”

Beyond that, the leadership skills girls learn as Girl Scouts is
also a crucial benefit. “They can go and tell people what they do [in
Girl Scouting] and how proud they are, why we should help refugees,
why we should collect books for kids, and why we need to protect the
environment,” Sara said. “We have a great group of girls, supportive
parents, and few constraints on what you can do as a Girl Scout, so
that makes it easy to incorporate community service projects. We’re
learning as we go, and we’re able to progress and take on bigger and
bigger challenges.”

And for Crystal, being a Girl Scout volunteer is one of the most
rewarding things she’s ever done. “My favorite part about being a Girl
Scout volunteer is knowing that our girls are being exposed to ideas
and skills that will sustain them for a lifetime,” she said. “Being a
Girl Scout provides a multitude of opportunities for girls and their
families. The possibilities are endless.”

Troop #3173, we are in awe of you and your unstoppable drive to
create positive change in your community and beyond. Keep up the
amazing leadership—the world needs you!